Nicholas And Mr Conchis example essay topic

The Magus, by John Fowles, is a six-hundred-and-five page book, which I have read all of. It was copyrighted in 1965 by Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited, and was dedicated to Astarte. John Fowles has written many other books, such as: A Maggot, Daniel Martin, Land, The Tree, poems, and literally dozens of others. The critiques of these books state they are all fiction, but are in a wide variety of areas. The main character, Mr. Nicholas Urfe, is extremely bored with life. He attended Oxford and taught for a year at a public school, before becoming an English teacher at the Lord Bryon School in Greece, on the island of Phraxos.

Nicholas talked to a former teacher who warned him to beware of 'the waiting room' without explanation. Paying no mind to this warning, Nicholas continues his journey and meets a young lady named Allison Key. During Nicholas's first six months in Greece, he finds the school claustrophobic, but island beautiful. Before the end of the first of three parts of this book, Nicholas is seriously contemplating suicide. He meets an old man named Mr. Maurice Conchis, and that is where things begin to get weird. He goes through many experiences with this old man and that's what this book discusses.

The book is in first person told through the eyes of Nicholas Urfe in the 1940's. Although Mr. Conchis is Nicholas's friend, he is also an antagonist. You find later in the book that he has been playing tricks on Nicholas. Important characters in this book are Alison, Mr. Conchis, and Mr. Conchis's female friends. Alison is Nicholas's lover and impacts his life greatly. Mr. Conchis and his female friends make a base for the plot to thicken.

Watching them carefully will lead to whole new dimensions of this book. The many conflicts in this book include: Man versus man and man versus self. Man versus man can be displayed with the conflicts between Nicholas and Alison and with Nicholas and Mr. Conchis as they argue throughout the book. Man versus self is displayed with Nicholas contemplating suicide and trying to overcome his own illusions. The climax of this book occurs when Nicholas finds out that Conchis has been tricking him the whole time.

I found many strengths and very few weaknesses in this book. It was written very well and is incredibly catching. The writer drags you into the book with his vocabulary and uses his many writing skills to walk your senses right through the book. Although his writing was fantastic, sometimes is seems a bit drawn out. Although this book was written such a long time ago, many of the lessons apply today! Its technology is something of the future and the plot is still being used today for TV shows, books, and movies.

My favorite part of this book, was when Conchis tells Urfe of his war experience and the writer explains how they stayed in a foxhole for hours while trying to survive. I like it the best because of the great detail the writer goes into in this part and I also have a fascination with war stories, so this was perfect for me. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading science fiction or enjoys 'The Truman Show' idea. You should also be a strong reader and be able to grasp the idea of moving from one time period to another very quickly. If you do not enjoy reading, have no care for science fiction, or get confused just chewing gum and walking at the same time, this book is not for you. Personally I enjoyed this book very much because the author uses strong heart and makes good points.

As the writer pulled me into the book it just made me want more... and now that I finished this one, I'm looking for a new John Fowles book.